View Full Version : Is Anybody Really Putting Up $1499 For Vader?
darthrobbler
08-22-2005, 08:43 PM
I read thru the other post and was wondering if anybody is really going to buy the DARTH VADER DUAL SIGNATURE HELMET?
At first I was against it but now I don't know. It is limited to 500 and will probably sell out asap but at $1499 who is really going to get one? And what about the long run? Will it crash and be worth dirt or go to insane prices and be outragous to get in the future?
Thoughts please.
Zurbaran1
08-22-2005, 08:45 PM
You are going to go insane and be outrageous trying to figure that out. :laugh:
MONSTER
08-22-2005, 08:45 PM
I ain't touching it for $1500.00. Its already inflated at that price. I just can't see it going up in price.
Zurbaran1
08-22-2005, 08:45 PM
Homeless person alert! :)
darthrobbler
08-22-2005, 08:47 PM
I have them same thoughts. It is a cool piece but for that price I don't think I can justify it.
darthrobbler
08-22-2005, 08:48 PM
Who needs a home? All you need is a storage unit to keep your stuff in.
MONSTER
08-22-2005, 08:53 PM
Homeless person alert! :)
You keep reminding me. The good news is that my confirmed closing date is September 27th. My suffering will be over soon.
Zurbaran1
08-22-2005, 08:55 PM
You keep reminding me. The good news is that my confirmed closing date is September 27th. My suffering will be over soon.
That's a very good date, should bring you lots of luck.
MONSTER
08-22-2005, 09:00 PM
That's a very good date, should bring you lots of luck.
Well there is no way I can forget your birthday now.
Zurbaran1
08-22-2005, 09:03 PM
Well there is no way I can forget your birthday now.
Well then, buy me a cake and invite me over. :)
MONSTER
08-22-2005, 09:49 PM
Well then, buy me a cake and invite me over. :)
Sounds good. You can help me move in.
Sniper
08-22-2005, 10:57 PM
Who needs a home? All you need is a storage unit to keep your stuff in.
I know of the storage areas too well :banghead:
Zurbaran1
08-22-2005, 11:10 PM
I know of the storage areas too well :banghead:
You have it backwards. They should stick you in the storage locker and let your stuff have free run of your house. :laugh:
Skulpturen
08-23-2005, 06:00 AM
Too much $$$$. There will always be better and better Vader helmets...
elwood49
08-23-2005, 08:10 AM
I'd LOVE to have the helmet, and if I were a rich man I'd buy one. It's just waaay too high of a price point. If it were $1199 or lower, then I would buy one with the $100 CS coupon. JEJ's sig is not worth $450 extra. This helmet will not go up in price on the secondary market, IMO. If people think $1,500 is too much why would someone pay $2,000 or more?
RichardW
08-23-2005, 10:01 AM
For $1500, they could've at least thrown in Dave "I get no respect" Prowse's signature.
Wooktroop
08-23-2005, 10:13 AM
there is no way id ever put up $1000 > $1500 for any single item thats just going to collect dust
Skulpturen
08-23-2005, 10:27 AM
there is no way id ever put up $1000 > $1500 for any single item thats just going to collect dust
Hey you can wear it! :)
P1X4R
08-23-2005, 10:58 AM
just out of curiosity has anyone bought a signature something only to have it accidentally smudged? i noticed the other day while i was packing some of my stuff that one of my SDS stormtrooper helmets with Andrew Ainsworth's signature was coming off. initially, i was a bit disappointed but hey i bought it for the helmet. it was a plus that it came signed. as for the signature edition vader helmets i'll just end up getting the open edition one. it is cool though that MR includes a picture of the person(s) signing it. yeah, yeah, i'm just b*tchin about the high premium price on it. ;)
nexus
08-23-2005, 11:16 AM
ha, ha, ha
I would like to see GG's SWs mini helmets come out at some point though
sithcommeth
08-23-2005, 09:22 PM
Too much $$$$ have to sell house to buy it :mad:
P1X4R
08-25-2005, 12:56 PM
wow, 2/3 already sold so far..
Wooktroop
08-25-2005, 01:40 PM
wow, 2/3 already sold so far..
haha thats it? i guess it wasnt a 14 min sell out
darthrobbler
08-25-2005, 02:09 PM
Yep, passed on it. An extra $450 for James Earl Jones autograph is not worth it to me. He only had one line and the word NO!!! in the movie so why spend the extra. I ordered the single sig instead at a huge discount...
wow, 2/3 already sold so far..
How do you know if/how many have sold?
Cotasnoova
08-25-2005, 03:19 PM
Yep, passed on it. An extra $450 for James Earl Jones autograph is not worth it to me. He only had one line and the word NO!!! in the movie so why spend the extra. I ordered the single sig instead at a huge discount...
Curious...what is a huge discount...$100, $200, half price?
RichardW
08-25-2005, 03:43 PM
How long does it take MR to apply the CS membership to your account. It's been a week since I received my membership kit and their site is still not recognizing me as a member. :rolleyes2
darthrobbler
08-25-2005, 04:20 PM
Curious...what is a huge discount...$100, $200, half price?
I have a friend that has an MR account and owes me a favor so he gave me his discount on it. He asked me not to say exactly what it is but it is good.
elwood49
08-25-2005, 06:14 PM
I have a friend that has an MR account and owes me a favor so he gave me his discount on it. He asked me not to say exactly what it is but it is good.
I would guess dealer price is somewhere in the $630-$650 range. Dealers usually pay 60% of retail from Sideshow and Gentle Giant, and I would imagine MR is pretty close to that figure.
Does anyone know any dealers with a good price on the HC only version? If I can get a discount, then I don't need the JEJ sig anyway.
spider-man
08-25-2005, 09:21 PM
well , hopefully someone gives a good price on the regular version so I can get that one.
darthrobbler
08-25-2005, 10:05 PM
I would guess dealer price is somewhere in the $630-$650 range. Dealers usually pay 60% of retail from Sideshow and Gentle Giant, and I would imagine MR is pretty close to that figure.
Does anyone know any dealers with a good price on the HC only version? If I can get a discount, then I don't need the JEJ sig anyway.
I asked my friend if he could get anymore and he said no he'd "maxxed out" what he could buy for his store. I don't know if he didn't want to help or what. sorry.
P1X4R
08-26-2005, 12:31 AM
a good buddy of mine (who shall remain anonymous) bought 5 dual signature edition vader helmets. he's quite the *cough* flipper.. err.. i mean businessman. :laugh:
quick math: $1,500 x 5 = $7,500 + s/h estimate = nearly $8,000!
Quite the gamble it is!
Wooktroop
08-26-2005, 11:41 AM
a good buddy of mine (who shall remain anonymous) bought 5 dual signature edition vader helmets. he's quite the *cough* flipper.. err.. i mean businessman. :laugh:
at what point should a flipper just become a dealer? flippers are like amature dealers. always trying to find an item for close to what a dealer pays for a bulk buy. kinda seems silly.
Gruson
08-26-2005, 12:18 PM
True Wook...but then a dealer has to worry about reporting taxes. :)
Wooktroop
08-26-2005, 12:28 PM
you are also supposed to pay taxes on all money you make on ebay. whats the difference?
elwood49
08-26-2005, 01:36 PM
you are also supposed to pay taxes on all money you make on ebay. whats the difference?
Yeah, technically you're supposed to even report gains made in your statues if they appreciate and you sell them. The gain is measured by the price you sell it for minus the price you paid for it. You should be able to pay capital gains tax at a lower rate of 15% on it since you could consider it an investment. Does anyone do that? Hell no! :eplus2:
P1X4R
08-26-2005, 01:38 PM
373 dual sigs available. i wouldn't "invest" on an item as expensive as this for future flipping. too risky!
Gruson
08-26-2005, 01:42 PM
Well, from what I was told, if an item is a PERSONAL item of yours and you sell it, you do not have to pay taxes on it.
My guess is that VERY few flippers actually report any of their ebay items during tax time.
Zurbaran1
08-26-2005, 02:03 PM
Well, from what I was told, if an item is a PERSONAL item of yours and you sell it, you do not have to pay taxes on it.
My guess is that VERY few flippers actually report any of their ebay items during tax time.
I don't think this is right. Personal item won't make a difference. I buy stocks for myself. Wouldn't they be considered personal items? If I sell them for a profit I have to pay a capital gains tax. I would think, as Elwood says, the difference between what you paid and what you sold it for is taxable.
Wooktroop
08-26-2005, 02:11 PM
so i guess the bottom line is thats its easier to commit tax fraud using ebay then it is if you buy a dealers liscence and buy bulk props, statues etc..
Gruson
08-26-2005, 02:20 PM
It's not fraud. Ebay does not regulate it either.
Most agree that if you are just "cleaning out your house" it is NOT considered income (you would also not need to charge sales tax) It is treated as though you are having a garage sale.
When you begin to purchase items with the itent of reselling them you have become a retailer and will need to report your income and collect sale tax which you would in turn pay to your state.
It's a touchy subject....
If you did indeed have to report ebay sales for tax purposes one would think the government would require ebay to get retailer licenses from people that want ebay accounts.
elwood49
08-26-2005, 05:14 PM
Again, I'm 100% sure that you're supposed to report the income. If you're walking along a sidewalk, and find a penny on the ground, that's income. If you win a prize from a Sideshow chat, you're supposed to report the fair market value of the prize as income. Many people have won cars in contests and been unable to get them because they were too poor to pay the taxes.
ANY gain you make is income, but no one out there reports everything they make, only because it's so difficult to keep up with. Technically, if I buy you a beer, that's income to you. Obviously no one would report that, but that's the way the IRS Tax Code works (The IRS Code book is huuuuuge, BTW). I took 2 Income Tax classes in Law School, so I'm somewhat knowledgable on the subject.
Korann
08-26-2005, 05:59 PM
As long as you aren't "making a profit" on what you are selling you shouldn't have to report it to the IRS because you don't have to pay taxes on a loss.
elwood49
08-26-2005, 06:29 PM
As long as you aren't "making a profit" on what you are selling you shouldn't have to report it to the IRS because you don't have to pay taxes on a loss.
Right, but why would you flip anything if you didn't make money off of it. :laugh:
Korann
08-27-2005, 05:42 PM
thats why I said "making a profit"
wizard-comics
08-27-2005, 09:09 PM
When you sell something you don't have to declare it as profit....If you had a garage sale and sold a lot of junk...you do not have to declare it (you already paid taxes on that crap when you bought it the first time)...if you buy something with the notion to sell it to make money, then you have to declare it (but only the profit)
You have to remember this, this IRS isn't watching all that close, they worry about big fish..not a guy that flips a few statues on eBay everynow and then...it's not cost effective to investigate someone that is only making 500-1000 (profit) a month on eBay...so if your flipping things every now and then don't get your panties in a bunch about big brother...
elwood49
08-27-2005, 09:30 PM
When you sell something you don't have to declare it as profit....If you had a garage sale and sold a lot of junk...you do not have to declare it (you already paid taxes on that crap when you bought it the first time)...
Yes you do. The whole point of a tax system is taxing stuff over and over. So would a buyer not pay sales tax on a used car? Of course they would.
There is a famous legal case where a company paid an executive's income taxes on his salary as a benefit. Guess what? He had to pay taxes on the money that the company spent on his taxes. The money spent on his taxes was additional income It's called double taxation, and it happens much more than you might think.
EX: CEO makes $100,000 a year and gets taxed for $35,000. Company pays his $35,000 in taxes. CEO is taxed on the $35,000 as income and pays roughly $10,000 in taxes. But you say he was already taxed on his salary, so he shouldn't have to pay anymore. Doesn't matter.
I can give you tons more examples of double taxation that occurs everyday in our society.
Sorry to take this thread way off topic, so I'll stop discussing this now. I assure you that I know what I'm talking about.
sithcommeth
08-27-2005, 11:33 PM
The IRS rules are clear: you must pay taxes on all personal and business income and that includes money you make selling on Ebay.
In its most basic sense, the IRS rules can be interpreted to mean that if you buy an old vase at a garage sale for $10 and sell it on eBay (or elsewhere) for $20 you made a $10 profit and therefore must report it as income and pay Uncle Sam his fair share.
In reality, if you are a casual seller who only sells a few items on eBay every now and then it's doubtful the IRS is going to let loose an army of agents to collect taxes on the few bucks you make. However, if you consistently sell on eBay the IRS may deem your activities to be business oriented and you will be required to file a Schedule C and claim the income.
My two cents!!
elwood49
08-27-2005, 11:44 PM
The IRS rules are clear: you must pay taxes on all personal and business income and that includes money you make selling on Ebay.
In its most basic sense, the IRS rules can be interpreted to mean that if you buy an old vase at a garage sale for $10 and sell it on eBay (or elsewhere) for $20 you made a $10 profit and therefore must report it as income and pay Uncle Sam his fair share.
In reality, if you are a casual seller who only sells a few items on eBay every now and then it's doubtful the IRS is going to let loose an army of agents to collect taxes on the few bucks you make. However, if you consistently sell on eBay the IRS may deem your activities to be business oriented and you will be required to file a Schedule C and claim the income.
My two cents!!
You are 100% correct and I agree completely.
Zurbaran1
08-28-2005, 12:24 AM
You are 100% correct and I agree completely.
Definitely.
Sniper
08-28-2005, 02:54 AM
You have it backwards. They should stick you in the storage locker and let your stuff have free run of your house. :laugh:
you truly are mod scum!!!
you have the run of the lotr and I have yet to see any displayed :eplus2:
elwood49
08-28-2005, 09:46 AM
you truly are mod scum!!!
you have the run of the lotr and I have yet to see any displayed :eplus2:
Zurb, I can't wait to see the entire collection all displayed at once. Do you have an entire room you can dedicate to it?
Zurbaran1
08-28-2005, 11:08 AM
you truly are mod scum!!!
you have the run of the lotr and I have yet to see any displayed :eplus2:
Well, I do have some displayed and I have shown the pics. By the way, unlike someone who will remain nameless I do know where my Frodo bust is. In the back row on that last pic. :laugh:
Zurbaran1
08-28-2005, 11:10 AM
Zurb, I can't wait to see the entire collection all displayed at once. Do you have an entire room you can dedicate to it?
Yes, I do have a room. I am taking my home office and turning it into a display room. It's a bit of work and going slowly. I am starting to clear out the room now. It's not a very big room so I don't know if I can fit the entire collection in there but I am going to try. In addition to all of the SS pieces I've got quite a bit of other non-SS LOTR stuff.
Mini-Rock
08-28-2005, 04:56 PM
Nice work with the Bertby cases Zurb! I've been eyeing the new black framed ones at Ikea. Not sure what I'd put in them though. :)
P1X4R
08-29-2005, 04:21 PM
from MRs product description..
"The Darth Vader Helmet comes in three separate pieces: Dome, Face Plate, and Rear Neck Collar. Each piece carefully protected in a soft, black, fleece bag. A red Master Replicas Logo is embroidered on the largest bag used to protect the dome. It also comes with an attractive display stand should you not wish to wear it on a daily basis."
the last line seems funny to me. someday i'll say to myself, "i don't feel like wearing it today. my head needs a tan anyway. good thing these helmets come with display stands!" :laugh:
elwood49
08-30-2005, 02:23 PM
The HC only signed Dealer Exclusive is supposed to go on sale today. Anybody know any dealers with a good discount that still have one available? All my normal dealers appear to be sold out.
It seems that these days most dealers don't even put the most coveted items up on their website. You have to e-mail them yourself to get the "real deals." Anybody got any good leads on one for less than retail? Send me a PM if you do.
P1X4R
08-30-2005, 02:29 PM
have you tried JD @ thesabervault? he's a great MR dealer!
elwood49
08-30-2005, 11:41 PM
have you tried JD @ thesabervault? he's a great MR dealer!
Actually P1, after doing some soul searching, I'm going to pass on the Vader SE's. If I could get one for $800 or so shipped then I would have bitten, but I decided not to. I'm much more interested in the AT-AT SE and the MR Millineum Falcon. I have the AT-AT coming next month for an AWESOME price! :buttrock:
I got an offer to get a Vader single SE for $1000 shipped, but I passed. I'll probably do what you're doing, and just go for the LE when it hits rock bottom prices on Ebay. :)
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